Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia will be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame as a contributor later this year, the team announced Thursday.
Scarnecchia ended his career as the NFL’s longest-tenured coach when he retired after the 2019 season. He is a 36-year coaching veteran, who spent 34 seasons with the Patriots and won five Super Bowls. Scarnecchia is widely viewed as one of the greatest offensive line coaches of all time.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft informed Scarnecchia of his upcoming induction at the annual Patriots Hall of Fame committee meeting Thursday in Foxboro. He will become just the fourth contributor to enter the Hall after Patriots founder Billy Sullivan (2009), the team’s long-time play-by-play announcer Gil Santos (2012), and long-time cheerleader director Tracy Sormanti (2021). All other members are former Patriots head coaches or players, who become eligible for nomination once four years pass from the date of their retirement.
In a team release, Kraft said of Scarnecchia: “You would be hard pressed to find anyone who made greater on-field contributions over his 34 seasons with us, which propelled us to 10 of our 11 Super Bowl appearances and helped us claim five of our six Super Bowl championships. He earned the respect of his fellow coaches and players, many of whom credited Dante for making them the best they could be. I am proud that his legacy will be preserved in our Hall of Fame forever.”
Scarnecchia originally joined the Patriots in 1982 and coached special teams and tight ends before leaving for a brief stint with the Colts. He returned to New England in 1991 and again coached tight ends and special teams under former headman Dick MacPherson. In 1993, newly hired coach Bill Parcells kept Scarnecchia on his staff as a special assistant Once Parcells left in 1997, Scarnecchia resumed his special teams duties under Pete Carroll and moved to offensive line two years later.
Once Bill Belichick was hired in 2000, Scarnecchia was promoted to assistant head coach/offensive line coach. He remained in Foxboro until his first retirement in 2013. Scarnecchia later returned in 2016 and continued to oversee a consistently dependable offensive line built on several late-round picks and undrafted free agents he developed into capable starters, as the Patriots won two more Super Bowls.
During Thursday’s meeting, the Patriots Hall of Fame committee also discussed possible candidates for the next player/coach nominees: Julius Adams, Pete Brock, Chuck Fairbanks, Russ Francis, Logan Mankins, Lawyer Milloy, Bill Parcells, John Smith, Mosi Tatupu, Mike Vrabel, Wes Welker. A committee vote will narrow that pool to three candidates who will then head to a fan vote to determine this year’s honoree.